Gifts We Love: A One-of-a-Kind Scented Candle Designed by Petra Nemcova

Let’s be real: a candle is a go-to gift during the holiday season. They’re gender-neutral, inoffensive, and pretty much everyone loves them. But what’s really special is when a candle isn’t just a candle, but a mode of transportation from the comfort of your own abode to another, more exotic locale. And that’s what philanthropic beauty Petra Nemcova aimed for when she designed a line of votives for Cake Walk Style this season.
“Scent brings us to the past and into any country more than the visual [sense] and more than hearing. It’s a way to travel,” Nemcova explained to The Vivant, speaking to why she loves candles. The five candles in the line feature scents native to their respective countries: Haiti, Indonesia, the Czech Republic (where Nemcova grew up), Mexico, and the United States. Each jar also features a hand-carved map that takes 4.5 days to apply to the glass, each one made in its home country.
“When you put the candles next to each other, it connects the maps together,” Nemcova said. “So there’s an underlying message of how interconnected we are. Because it’s by hand, every candle is like a snowflake, there’s a little difference from one to the next.”Head to Cake Walk Style to shop the candles ($98 each) now! And if you happen to live in the Houston area, Petra will be hosting an event at Cakewalk Style on December 12, from 2 to 4 p.m.!